Fischtor

The Fischtor stands in Arnstadt, a town in Thüringen, beside the Wollmarkt. It is a heavy stone gatehouse built in the 16th century as part of the eastern wall of a palace garden at Schloss Neideck. The gate originally had a rounded archway between two small towers. Around 1700 a timber upper storey was added and turned into a home for the court fisherman who looked after the nearby fish ponds. In 2013 the local joiners’ guild restored the building, and today it appears on Arnstadt’s list of protected monuments. The gate’s name gave its title to the Fischtorbrücke, a bridge that crosses the Mühlgraben west of the gate. The bridge is a quiet reminder of the town’s old waterways and mill channels. The fisherman’s house above the archway shows how medieval gardens were guarded and managed. The solid masonry and later timber work together mark two building periods in one structure. Visitors find a sturdy gatehouse with a round-headed passage and twin towers at ground level. Above, a half-timbered room projects over the arch, its small windows lit by the street lamps of Wollmarkt. The restored façade shows fresh limewash and carefully repaired stonework. Beyond the gate the bridge leads across the narrow mill race to quieter lanes. The scene combines everyday town life with a slice of aristocratic garden history.